12 Things Muslims Believe About Jesus/Esa (as)

It's that time of year where kids are doing nativity plays at school and seeing the Christmas buzz. It's a great time to teach Muslim children the Islamic beliefs about our prophet Jesus/Esa (as). What we know of him comes from the Quran and Hadith. Here are twelve bite-size points for kids.

1. Jesus/Esa (as) is a Prophet and Messenger of Allah.

*Do you know the difference between prophets and messengers? Find out in Migo & Ali: A-Z of Islam.

2. His mother Mary/Maryam has a high standing with Allah. She has an entire Surah named after her in the Qur’an and she was visited and addressed by the Angel Jibril (as).

3. He is a creation of Allah, and so was his mother Mary/Maryam (as). He is a human, who ate, drank, slept and did things for Allah.

4. Jesus/Esa's (as) birth was a miracle. He was born without a father and spoke as a newborn baby!

5. Prophet Jesus/Esa (as) was born about 600 years before Prophet Muhammad (saw), in Bethlehem, about 5 miles from Jerusalem.

6. He was around 30-33 years old when he was raised up to Allah. And that is the age the people in Paradise will be.

7. Jesus/Esa (as) is the Messiah (Christ, or Al-Masih). This means he was specially chosen by Allah for a mission and will return near the end times.

8. The return of Jesus/Esa (as) is one of the major signs of the last day. As the Messiah, he will destroy the Dajjal, or the false messiah (anti-christ) - that's his mission!

9. Christians believe that Jesus/Esa (as) is the son of Allah. The Quran clearly says about Allah: 'He has never had offspring, nor was He born.' Surah Iklhas

10. Allah allowed Jesus/Esa (as) to perform many miracles, including:

- Healing sick people

- Making blind people able to see.

- Making a clay bird and breathing life into it.

- Raising a man from the dead.

- Multiplying a small amount of food to feed thousands.

11. Some people didn't want Jesus/Esa (as) around, so they came to harm him, but it didn't work because Allah saved him and raised him up to the heavens. Whoever was harmed by the bad guys, on a cross, was not Esa (as).

12. When Jesus/Esa (as) returns, he will come down in Damascus.

‘Isa, son of Maryam (as), will descend at the white minaret in the eastern side of Damascus, wearing two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of two Angels. When he would lower his head, there would fall beads of perspiration from his head, and when he would raise it up, beads like pearls would scatter from it’. [Muslim]